So I’m sitting here trying to think of how to tell you my story of being given a shoebox full of cash.
Two actually.
See, over the years, I have been the recipient of some extreme acts of generosity. Always seeming to come exactly when I need them. Annoyingly cliché, but also absolutely true.
(*The reason I was inspired to tell this story is that just yesterday I was given a similar gift. This one didn’t come in a shoebox, but it came with the same love, generosity, and gratitude attached. In both directions. It comes back… sh*t, if I know anything, I know that.)
So, the shoeboxes. After a year of agonizing search for my next life chapter after skydiving, I had finally found it. Life coaching was it. Thing is, the program cost 7500 bucks. I didn’t have 7500 bucks. What I did have, was every fiber of my being buzzing telling me that as ridiculously scary as this was, it was exactly the right thing to do. So January 27, 2009, (also my birthday for those of you who enjoy the poetic twist), I let the stress go, swiped my BOA Visa, and felt completely peaceful and secure in my choice, despite the fact that I had no idea how I was going to pay for it.
Fast forward not even one week, and I found myself at the DZ, working, jumping, and picking up a shoebox with my name on it. I untied the bowed laces, and opened it up. I looked down to see a tall stack of 100-dollar bills, and a note that said, “I’ve always wanted to give a shoebox full of money to a deserving person.”
I immediately started BALLING.
I’m talking floodgates, people.
In that moment, I instan-f*cking-taneously believed that the Universe does in fact provide. The obviousness of this hit me like a Mack truck and despite the seemingly unlinked nature of the two events, I knew I had done the right thing choosing to move forward with life coaching. It honestly felt like a reward for following my gut. Like the cosmic game-show hosts were totally giving me the big money because I had the courage to pick the right door for my life path.
I know exactly who bestowed this gift on me, and this person has asked that I keep them anonymous in my writing, which I’m completely happy to do. I love this person deeply and purely and I did long before this gift. Basically, some things I had done for this person were coming back to me many moons later in the form of a shoebox full of cash at precisely the right moment. And no, this person didn’t know I needed it. I still cry every time I tell this story in person, and I’m even feeling tears come up now as I type. That kind of love, that kind of generosity, that acknowledgement of the person I truly strive to be was unquestionably reflected back to me and I was forced to acknowledge that goodness in myself in such a grand and undeniable gesture. All I could do was cry and say thank you.
The shoebox almost entirely paid for my schooling. Not quite, but almost. All my stress around my choice was gone, and all my intuition validated. I was doing the right thing. So yes, it took away my financial worries in the short-term, but more importantly, it supported me long-term in a way I don’t think I ever could have achieved without this experience to hammer it home.
You reap what you sow. The Universe provides.
In the end, I got way more than 50 Benjamins.
What’s cool too, is that there’s even more to this story… as if the above wasn’t enough, literally a week after the shoebox, I landed a skydiving stunt job on an Emerald Nuts commercial. A job that ended up paying me 5 times the shoebox. For 4 days work. Let’s just say I got the point. And my school got paid for. And in my mind, all because I had the guts to swipe that credit card and follow my self.